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Lester Group Buys Masonite Plant in Fredericksburg, Va.

Fortress Door
(L to R) Rick Finall, Fortress Door Co. plant manager, discusses production at the new Fortress Door plant in Fredericksburg, Va. with Jim O’Brien, president of The Lester Group, and George Lester, II, chair and CEO of The Lester Group.

FREDERICKSBURG, Va.— The Lester Group of Martinsville, Va. has purchased the assets of the Masonite Architectural Door Company plant in Fredericksburg, VA.
All 14 employees of the Masonite plant have been hired by The Lester Group, the company announced in a press release.

Lester has formed Fortress Door Co. to operate the plant, a 40,000 square foot building located at 218 Central Road in Fredericksburg.

The Fortress plant manufactures and pre-finishes commercial architectural doors that are sold to door companies and construction companies.

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“We are delighted to invest in Fredericksburg again,” said George W. Lester, II, chair and CEO of The Lester Group and chair-elect of the National Lumber & Building Materials Dealers Association. “Fortress Doors will enable us to continue to grow in building materials and construction industries while retaining jobs in the community.”

The Lester Group is a diversified company founded in l896 in Martinsville. Lester’s primary interests are in lumber products and real estate development in Virginia, North Carolina and West Virginia. The Lester Group has owned the Jim Carpenter Co., also in Fredericksburg, Va., since 1974. In addition to the Jim Carpenter Co., Lester has building materials operations in Manassas, Lynchburg, and Martinsville in Virginia and in High Point, Henderson and Elizabeth City in North Carolina.

Rick Finall, plant manager for Masonite, has the same position with Fortress. Finall, a native of King George, Va., has 37 years’ experience in manufacturing wood doors.

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“Rick is a talented manager,” said Jim O’Brien, president of The Lester Group. “He comes highly recommended. He and his team will continue in place with a well-earned reputation of providing outstanding customer service.”

The plant pre-finishes doors with an environmentally safe paint system, said O’Brien. “That feature will appeal to many companies in the industry who are green building advocates. Also, Fortress Door Co. will be able to match any custom finishing color.

“Our team takes pride in the quality of our craftsmanship, customer service and quick delivery,” said O’Brien.

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Masonite had planned to close the plant it had operated for four years, the Lester Group release said, and had offered jobs to employees in Florida or New England. The employees preferred not to move from Fredericksburg.

Source: The Lester Group

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